Watt-hour meter



y 6, 1941- w. e. MYLIUS 2,240,666

WATT-HOUR METER I Filed Aug, 25, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 zzfcreocan aucm t 1/ 4040 flwwize INVENTOR 28 32 29' 30 Walter G/ z/Zizza ATTO EY" WITNESSES:

y 5 6 w. s. MYuus 2,240,666

WATT-HOUR METER Filed Aug. 25, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Walter G. MyZjus.

WITNESSES: 1

ATT

Patented May 6, 1941 Walter G. Mylius, Summit, N. J., assignor to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturingi'company, fa" mmoti n. f Pcnn r r East Pittsburgh, Pa.,

vania Application August 25, 1938, Serial n. 226,621 11- Claims. (01. 171-46 1) This invention relates to instruments, and it has particular relation to electrical instruments of the watt-hour meter type. i

Because of manufacturing tolerances. and

variations in materials, it has been, the practice to provide instruments such as wattrhour meters with a number of adjustments. For example, a polyphase watt-hour meter ordinarily has light load, full load, power factor and phase balance adjustments provided. Ordinarily such adjustments are attached to any portion of the meter structure which may be available. Such indiscriminant location of the adjustments has resulted in awkward positions of the actuating means for the adjustments and increased cost of manufacture. For example, in order to adjust some meters it has been necessary to make some of the adjustments from the front face of the meters and other adjustments from side or rear faces thereof. These awkward positionings of the adjusting devices are undesirable for the reason that they are conducive to carelessness on the part of the person making the adjustments. This applies particularly to the adjustments for phase balance and light load. The adjustment for full load ordinarily is efiected by an adjustment of the permanent magnets used for damping the meter, and the adjustment for power factor may be effected by varying the resistance of the power factor coil. However, both the light load and. phase balance adjustments are associated with the meter core and should be conveniently accessible.

In accordance with my invention a plurality adjustments are assembled in a compact unit. In one embodiment of my invention a phase balance adjusting element is mounted forreciprocation across a portion of a meter core and alight load adjustment element is mounted for rotation across the same portion of -the meter core. Bothof these adjusting elements are actuatedby screws 'which'are accessible from. the front of the meter unit. In order to eliminate any variation in the adjustment due to vibration of'the meter parts or other causes, I may include in at least one of the adjustment devicesaaself-l'ocking construction.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide an adjustment unit having a plurality ,It is a still further. object of my invention to provide an adjusting element reciproclable across a portion of a meter core and a second adjusting element, rotatable across a portion of a meter I core.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide an adjusting device which is self-locking in any position to which it is actuated.

Other objects of my invention will'be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a meter core bo in my hive n.

Fig. 2 is a view in bottom plan of the adjust,- ing unit shown in Fig. l,

V Fig. 3 is an exploded view in perspective of the adjusting unit shown in Figs. 1. and 2, and

Figs. i to 9, inclusive, are detail views of modifications of the structure illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive.

Referring to thedrawings, Figure 1 shows a meter core I which may be of the type having a potential pole 2 and current poles 3 all located above a magnetic flux return member or keeper 4. For further details of this well known core, reference may be made to Patents Nos. 1,691,354 and 1,702,450.

In order to adjust meters employing such cores for phase balance I mount a magnetic member 5 of material such as soft iron for reciprocation in a recess 6 provided in the keeper 4. This magnetic plate may be retained more securely if the coacting edges of the recess 6 and the plate are bevelled to provide an overhanging or dove tail relationship. A construction of the type thus far described is illustrated in the aforesaid Patent No. 1,702,450.

Errors in light load performance of a meter may be corrected by means of a segment I of an electroconductive material such as brass which may be rotated across the face of the potential pole 2. It should be noted that the segment .1 overlies the magnetic plate 5. As shown in broken lines, a rotatable electroconductive disk D is positioned between the segment I, and the poles 2, 3.

Both the plate 5 and the segment 1 are mounted on a single supporting member By having a pair of projecting slotted arms 9 and two flanges l0 and II. The supporting member may be affixed to the core I by inserting the arms 9 through openings l2 provided in the keeper 4 until the slotted portions of the arms 9 emerge on the opposite side of the keeper. The suppress fit in holes I! drilled through the ends of:

The plate 5 is connected... operatively to the screw l3 by means of a simple lug it provided with a tappedholel9"through,-' which the screw I3 is threaded; Consequently rotation of the screw l3 in aclockwise or (hunter-- the machine screws.

clockwise direction retracts the plate 5 from the recess 6 or moves it further into the recess.

In the specific embodiment illustrated, theseg- I ment 1 is mounted on the reduced end 'ZU-cf a .shaft zl whichjs retatably mounted in a bearns. e endin thr l eb 'lf r d o the e eva i mem e e nt 1 m be firmly attached is the shaft 2| in any suitable way, as by drilling a small hole 22' inthe'. end ofthe shaft and forming a small hexagonal or other 'non -circularIhole 23in the segment I. The reduced' po'rtien;2ll may thenbe extended through the-hole23 and upset or peened to hold ,thesegmenti firr'nlyin position.- At its opposite end, the shaft 2! isf'provided with an enlarged head 24 which serves" to restrict axial movement of the shaft.- In ordertorotatethe shaft'I attachthereto a lever 25ifinlany' suitable way as by. inserting it into a slot 26.prvide d in themlarged head and passing a. pin. 2'! through openings .28.;and 29 providedinjlthe enlarged head and lover ,re'sIpe'ctively. .The' various 'pin's. employed mrre aipihg purposes may be maintained iiiposition"-byffmaking them. press .fits by. .upsetting their endsor by any other suitable pro- -icedure. For a purpose to beT'herinafter set rename end of .the leven25 is slottedto' form twonnge s 39 ,havingendswhichare bent slightly lir'iopposit'e directionsias shown in Fig. 3.

" .Rotation of the screwll is transmitted to the ,lever' 25 and segment ;'I .by means of carriage block 3| which is provided with a tapped .opening 32 through which the screw l4 is threaded. lRgotation ofethe screw [consequently moves the th fingers-30 ;Brr ie e i Q. E es.,2 a 3 fwill'b e seen-that afportion of the carriage block extends into the slot. of the lever 25 to aid in keeping the various elementsinalignment. To

aid further in maintainingthevarious parts. in

i jer ins sh t? 413 g ins t 3. re w -fi en i On Q'P fn t t e il rejd mp er the a riage block without-releasing their hold on the P oject n r n .34- Referringto 3' it willbe noted that the fingers tll both;- are insubstantiaHy the same piaha f-wneiiftnfearnage block 3| is inserted finthe slotiof the lever 25 and moved to'a position th'escrewfM' may be passed through the tapped opening 32, the projecting portions beers-1 53, '34' engage the s ides of' the ingers SO-and displac'e'the twofingers-slightlyin opposite directions from their normal plane, as shown in Fig. 2. If the fingers are formed of a resilient or spring material, such as spring brass, a torque will be applied thereby against the carriage 3| tending to maintain or look it in any position to which it is moved. This resilient action also eliminates any back lash which other- Wise may be present between the shaft 2! and the screw 14.

In order to provide adequate movement of the: plate without undue increase in the size thereof, a slot 36 may be formed therein for clearing thegboss-ZE. Preferably the segment 1 is depressed slightly adjacent the hole 23 to receive th'eupset part ofthe reduced portion 25 or other attaching means employed.

The structure thus far described is particularly useful in a polyphase watt-hour meter of the compa'ct'type disclosed in the Bradshaw Patent l}TQ. ,,2, 03l,98l When. two meter cores .are emprayed Ior; such a; polyphas'e watt-hour meter they may bepositioriedwith all'four of 'the adjusting screws accessible from the front of the "t Since the meter must be so mounted that gi er readable, substantially any opening t'dexposetheregister will be large to give access to the four adjusting 1s-would permit such a meter to be 'employed rnsmall openings that'would not give faccessto. the adjusting devices available in the b eved'thatthe operation of the strucfa'r described isapparent. If a meter {corefof the typ'e'herein disclosed is ter' incorrectly under light loads, 14-; is ro'tated' tocorrect the light load l This moves the electro-conductive segmnt 1 cros the potential pole face to lag more thereby producing an adjustable tor' q e. a If 'on the other hand the phase balance requires" correction, the screw i3 is rotated tdfmove the plate 5 intoproper position "for oi'recting'the phase'balance. Movement of egneu'c p ate 5 'has 'th'efiect of varying th "gab lceheatfh tne poter tia1 po1e 2. Ex cept forthemaghetic F plate '5 the remaining 'parts of the'fadjustmeht unit shown in Fig. 3 contfenientlymay'fb constructed ofa non- -meg'fietic material such' as brassor bronze. severai modificationsbf the actuating means ronthe segment! are illustrated in Figs. 4 to 9, inclusive. *Forexample, the-lever may be replaced by a lever 25a constructed as shown in Flga- 4 and '5. l The lever 25ais formed-by bendil'IQ- Q-SQITD of suitable "material, such as brass, about a central axis-AA forproviding the doubled construction shown in Fig. 5. A slot-31 in the strip furnishe's two fingers d which preferably have enlarged eyes 38 at their ends for reception -of"th'e pins 33 alnd 34i In use, the strip may be folded around the pins 33; 34 and the doubled 'e'ndspIaced' in the slot 26,"holes 29a being posi- -"tioned to 'receive the pin 21; IOne of the-fingers 'SOa 'maybe' 'bent slightly outof the plane of the nvented-for biasing the carriage'3l in the mannfabdve described, or both of the fingers 30a may be bent slightly out of the plane of the lever =2 5a"'in'opposite' directions for the same purpose ifthmaterial einployed for" the lever is sufiiciently resilient. The fingers 30a engage the pins 33 and 3t somewhat'yieldingly in order to permit sumient' play therebetweii as the carriage3l is reciprocated. In"-'Figs."6 'and' 7',-'a construction is1shown*for 75 replacing bomtheievr:25 and the carriage 3|.

The members [01), Ill), I 4b and 24b of these figures correspond to the flanges I 0, H, screw l4 and head 24 of Figs. 1 to 3. For connecting the screw 14b to the head 245, a strip 39 of flexible material, such as copper or brass is positioned in the head 24b in place of the lever 25. This strip is punched or otherwise modified to form a disk 40 connected to the body of the strip by a narrow, flexible tongue 4|. By extruding the center of the disk to form a reinforcing lip 42, and threading the extruded portion, the screw l4b may be employed directly for moving the strip 39 and head 2411. This is shown more clearly in Fig.

7 which is a section taken along the line VII-VII of Fig. 6. As the screw is rotated, fiei'rure of the tongue 4i accommodates the structure to its various positions. If the strip 39 is resilient, fiexure of the tongue 4| tends to lock the assembly in any desired position and to eliminate backlash. As illustrated, the disk 40 is connected to the body of the strip 39 by fingers 43, but these fingers may be eliminated if desired and the finger-like tongue 4| employed for connecting the disk directly to the main body of the strip. That is, the tongue 4! would be located diametrically opposite to its illustrated position.

A still further modification is shown in Fig. 8 wherein a screw I40 imparts motion to a gear 44 aflixed to a head 240. The screw and head correspond to the screw l4 and head 24 of Figs. 1 to 3.

The gear 44 may be replaced by a lever 45 having a single tooth, or a few teeth, for engagement with a screw Md as illustrated in Fig. 9 wherein a head 24d and the screw l4d correspond to the head 24 and screw M of Figs. 1 to 3. By

- making the threads of the screw Md of sufficient depth, the lever 45 remains in operative engagement therewith for a displacement suflicient for adjustment purposes.

Although I have described my invention with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it is obvious that numerous modifications thereof are possible. Therefore, I do not wish my invention to be restricted except as required by the appended claims when interpreted in view of the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an electrical instrument, a magnetic core, an armature responsive to magnetic fiux passing through said magnetic core, and an assembly for adjusting the torque applied to said armature by said magnetic flux comprising a rotatable light load adjustment element, a reciprocable phase balance adjustment element, and means for actuating said adjustment elements, said assembly being attachable to said instrument as a complete unit.

2. In an electrical instrument, a magnetic core having a pole portion, an armature movable in accordance with magnetic flux passing through said pole portion, and means for modifying the torque applied to said armature comprising a magnetic phase balance adjusting element movable for altering the reluctance of said magnetic core to magnetic flux, an electro-conductive light load adjusting element rotatable across the path of flux emanating from said pole portion for adjustably lagging magnetic flux passing through said pole portion, and a common support for said elements, said support being attachable to said magnetic core.

3. In an electrical instrument, a magnetic core having a pole portion, an armature movable in accordance with magnetic flux passing through said pole portion, and means for modifying the torque applied to said armature comprising a magnetic phase balance adjusting element movable for altering the reluctance of said magnetic core to said magnetic flux, an electro-conductive 1 for said elements and actuating means, said common support, elements and actuating means being attachable to said magnetic core as a unitary assembly.

4. In an electrical instrument, a magnetic core,

an, armature responsive to magnetic flux passing through said magnetic core, a pair of rotatable screws operable from a single side of said instrument, and adjusting means controlled by said screws including an adjustment element reciprocable in response to rotation of a first one of said screws for varying the magnetic reluctance of said magnetic core and a second adjustment element rotatable in response to rotation of a second one of said screws for producing an adjustable shifting magnetic field for said armature, said screws and elements baing mounted on a common support independent of said magnetic core.

5. In an instrument, a magnetic core, a support positioned adjacent to said core, a first screw and a second screw mounted for rotation in said support, said screws being parallel, a magnetic element reciprocable across a portion of said core and having a threaded part in engagement with said first screw for actuation thereby, an electroconductive element pivotally mounted on said support for rotation across said portion, and means for rotatingsaid electro-conductive element in accordance with rotation of said second screw.

6. In an instrument, a magnetic core, a support positioned adjacent to said core, a first screw and a second screw mounted for rotation in said support, said screws being parallel, a magnetic element reciprocable across a portion of said core and having a threaded part in engagement with said first screw for actuation thereby, an electroconductive element pivotally mounted on said support for rotation across said portion, and means for rotating said electro-conductive element in accordance with rotation of said second screw, said means comprising a member movable axially of said screw in accordance with rotation of said screw, and a plurality of fingers associated with said electro-conductive element, said fingers being positioned to engage said member for converting reciprocation of said member into rotation of said electro-conductive element, at least one of said fingers being resilient.

7. In an electrical instrument, a magnetic core having an air gap, a reciprocable member, a rotatable member movable through said air gap for controlling magnetic flux passing therethrough, and means for converting movement of said reciprocable member into a corresponding movement of said rotatable member comprising a plurality of fingers connected to said rotatable member for grasping said reciprocable member, at least one of said fingers being resilient.

8. In an electrical instrument, a magnetic core having an air gap, an armature rotatable in response to magnetic fiux passing through said air gap, a rotatable shaft, means connected to said shaft for adjustably varying the magnetic fiux in said air gap to modify the torque applied to said armature, a rotatable screw, said shaft angle relative to each other; a reciprocableicarriage having threads engaging the threads of said screw for reciprocation therealong as said screw is rotated, and means for converting reciproca- 7 tion of said carriage into rotation of saidshaft. .l 9. .In an electrical instrument, a magnetic core having an air gap, an armature rotatable in response to magnetic flux passing through said air gap, a rotatable shaft, means connected to said shaft for adjustably varying the magnetic fiux in said air gap to modify the torque applied to said armature, a rotatable screw, said shaft and screw having displaced aXes running at an angle relative to each other, a reciprocable carriage having threads engaging the threads of said screw for reciprocation therealong as said screw is rotated, and means for converting reciprocation ofsaid carriage into rotation of said shaft comprising fingers connected to said sh'aftior grasping said carriage.

110. In an electrical instrument, an armature,

means for passing magnetic flux through said armature for actuating said armature, and means for controlling 'said magnetic flux including a rotatable screw, an adjusting element to be moved in accordance with rotation of said screw, and

- and:screw havingdisplaced axesrunning at. an vmeans for coupling-said screw and element, sa1d means being free of backlash, said coupling .means including threaded means for engaging .passingithroughtsaid air gap comprising a magnetic element movable. relative to said, magnetic core,. means v for 1 varying the light-load torque on said armature comprising an electroconductive element movable relative to said magnetic core, and a common supporting. member for said elements, saidsupportingmemberand elements being attachablerelative to said. magnetichcore as a unitary assembly. .t l c c, Y

' WALTER G. MYLIUS. 

